external tile over concrete.

  • Thread starter dontbelieveawordofit
  • Start date
D

dontbelieveawordofit

i’ve poured some concrete retaining walls for a sloped driveway and thinking instead of rendering I may like to clad/tile the surfaces with a ceramic slate effect or porcelain finish.
bearing in mind there will naturally be water / moisture present or penetrating from behind .
any ideas on surface prep or products to make this a success?
 
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I've not tiled a retaining wall but if I was going to my main concern would be the moisture and any chemicals from the soil reacting with the tile adhesive. I think I'd be tempted to fix a waterproof construction board, maybe 6mm or 10mm Marmox, to the wall using a C2S1 adhesive and then mechanically fix them with plenty of stainless steel screws and washers. I'd tape all the joints and screw heads with a waterproof tanking tape and then that will give you a completely waterproof layer which will hopefully stop any water penetrating through and attacking the adhesive bond with the tiles. If your wall is exposed to a lot of sun maybe consider a S2 adhesive for the extra flexibility. Can you tank the other side of the wall? Good luck bennymultifinish.
 
clever! its perfectly flat so a marmox or similar should be easy to fix. didn’t even cross my mind for outside . i’ll defo look into it. would you aim to leave a gap behind it or fix tight to the concrete? aah ok i missed the adhesive bit, the adhesive will create a gap !
thanks!

can’t tank behind or insert a membrane as its been poured with reinforcing mesh tight to the soil behind.
 
No problem, but like I say, I've not done it before. I'd use a notched trowel to give full adhesive coverage on the back of the boards and then mechanically fix as well. You've got the added strength from the adhesive then. Someone else must have done this and will hopefully impart their wisdom.
 
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sounds totally plausible . a wide notched trowel vertically would allow any moisture to run down behind. and marmox are certified for external use.(y)
 
Or you could dot and dab and fix through the dabs, you'd get more space behind then. I'd use 12.5mm min board thickness if you did this though as that's what you need when dot and dabbing Marmox.
 
Or you could dot and dab and fix through the dabs, you'd get more space behind then. I'd use 12.5mm min board thickness if you did this though as that's what you need when dot and dabbing Marmox.
agreed . sounds like a plan . cheers.
 
Ceramic tiles have a hard waterproof glaze but in general they absorb water which will obviously cause problems in winter when they start freezing and thawing. Porcelain tiles on the other hand are made from compressed clay and are much more dense and absorb hardly any water. Porcelain would be a better choice for your wall but some ceramic tiles are rated for external use.
 

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